


True Reset

by Alys_Gay_Parade



Category: Gravity Falls, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Aly's pain factory, the future looks bleak
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-17
Updated: 2016-04-28
Packaged: 2018-05-21 05:04:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6039298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alys_Gay_Parade/pseuds/Alys_Gay_Parade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All is fair in life and death, and there are things we'd soon forget. Loved one lost in a curious state, our hero makes her first mistake. Down the rabbit hole she fell, down the hole and into hell. The monsters, though they scare her so, are different souls she'd love to know. Love is now her moral foe. How far can this shooting star go?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: Loved One Lost

_Summer of 2013_

_Mabel and Dipper show up at the mansion, where Stan and Ford are staying with Fiddleford in between adventures. “Stan! Ford!” Mabel runs in and greets her great uncles with a hug, Dipper carrying their bags in close behind. “Oh, you two have grown so much!!” Stan exclaimed, smiling with nostalgia. Ford walked up to Dipper and gave a small smile. “Hey, Dipper. How have you been?” Dipper smiled and laughed, voice cracking. “G-Good. The puberty thing is taking some getting used to, but it could be worse.” Ford picked up Mabel's things, beckoning Stan to join the walk with their niece and nephew. “Dipper, Mabel, I know how you like to go and explore, but until further notice, I want you two to not go into the woods.” His tone had become serious, and the look on Stan's face emulated the unease in the air. “But, why?” Dipper asked, curiosity beginning to pique. Stan sighed and stepped in front of them. “Ford's been getting some weird readings on his and Fidds' tech. Because they haven't died down or been explained, we don't want you getting into any unnecessary trouble. Okay?” As the twins listened to his words, they could only look to each other, worry and curiosity clouding their minds._

_It didn't take a genius to know that they'd disobey in the night. With Wendy's help, Dipper and Mabel descended from their window and fled into the woods. The air felt strange the moment they went into the cover of trees. Mabel felt uneasy and immediately wanted to turn back. But she knew Dipper wouldn't. So she pushed forward, traversing the starlit forest with a lingering fear, only for him. They soon come to Bill's frozen statue, where the feeling seems to be welling from. It was being taken by nature, vegetation nearly completely covering it. Dipper stepped forward to touch it, and slipped, falling into a sinkhole. “DIPPER!!” Mabel jumped to try and grab his hand, but was too late._

Mabel woke from her nightmare crying, seeing Ford and Stan beside her. It's been two years since that day. “Mabel, sweetie,” Ford started, pulling her into a soft hug, “It's okay. We're here for you.” Stan reached out and took her hand, causing her tears to slowly die off. She should have just told Dipper not to. She and Wendy ran to Stan and Ford for help, and despite the excavation teams they hired, Dipper was never found. And to make matters worse, about a year ago, after what Ford described as a skirmish with a deadly monster, tourists began to disappear in the forest, around the same area Dipper had fell. That area was put off limits. But there was always a curious soul. Six people had gone missing. And every time they do, Mabel wonders where they went.

She didn't know why her midday walk led her to the forest's edge. And every part of her screamed to turn back. But she once again found herself walking forward, eventually pushing past the police tape surrounding the area of interest. She followed her original footsteps, even more tentative than before. She came to Bill's statue once again, although it was completely covered now and hard to see among the foliage. “Dipper...” Mabel walked to the edge of the sinkhole where Dipper fell, looking into the abyss. Nothing but unending darkness. “I miss you, Dipper... I wish I could just-” before she could finish her thought, the ground crumbled beneath her, sending her head over heels into the dark. Nothing but her screams of terror filled the void as she tried to grab onto anything she could, trying to keep herself from falling and spinning. She felt her head smack against something and blacked out, succumbing to unconsciousness.

 


	2. A New Friend

Mabel awoke with blurred vision and a pounding headache. She seemed to be laying on a bed of golden flowers, silky soft to the touch and surprisingly comfortable. In her hand was a stick that she had torn from the ground in her desperate grasping. Noticing a scrape on her knee, she pulled out a bandaid and placed it over before standing. Taking in her surroundings, the area looked like a corridor of sorts, the light from above barely visible. Gripping the branch, she swallowed hard and moved forward.  
  
The tunnel ahead seemed to become darker and eerier as she made her way down it. She eventually came to a doorway, through which, she noticed a lone flower. on closer inspection, it had a bright smiling face. "Well, howdy~! I'm Flowey! Flowey the flower!" Mabel, cautious, moved forward to the flower, looking down at it. "You're new to the underground, aren'tcha?" Mabel silently nodded, watching the smile on this creature glow brighter. "Well, then! I guess little ol' me will have to show you how to survive down here!"  
  
Mabel seemed to let her guard down, Flowey seemingly harmless. "That would be great." She had no other real alternative. What's the worst that could happen? "Well, down here, we survive on a substance known as LOVE, spread through tiny friendliness pellets~! Would you like some?" Mabel's eyes lit up. She could definitely survive down here, with so much love to spare. She was distracted, however, by the heart on her sweater suddenly glowing a bright red. "That there is your soul! It gains the LOVE directly through the pellets. Go on, catch as many as you can!" Flowey shot pellets from his body, and they began to dance around Mabel. She reached out her hand to touch one, only for it to explode on contact and send her flying back.  
  
"YoU iDiOt...." Flowey's expression had changed to a twisted grin, an ominous feeling filling the air. "In this world, it's kill or BE KILLED." Mabel began to shake from weakness and fear as the plant cackled. "Die." Pellets surrounded Mabel and began to close in. She felt tears began to well and closed her eyes.  
  
Suddenly, strength filled her again, and when she opened her eyes, fire came from the darkness and flung Flowey off to the side. Out from the shadows came a goat person, a soft smile on her face. "What a horrible creature, tormenting such an innocent youth." She helped Mabel up and smiled wider. "Greetings, child. My name is Toriel. I am so sorry you had to deal with that. Why don't I take you to my home to rest?" Mabel blearily nodded, confusion and shock leaving her speechless.  
  
Up north is a grand staircase, leading to an ornate doorway. The scene is breathtaking, and Mabel feels determination surge through her as she climbs the granite stairs. Wordlessly, she follows Toriel into the ruins. Toriel begins by telling Mabel about the various puzzles that dot the ruins, process requiring their solution. She thinks of how Dipper would love these puzzles, and a quiet depression washes over her.  
  
Toriel has a habit of hand holding and doing things for people, Mabel quickly notices. As they continue past the puzzles, Toriel stops at a dummy. "My child, sometimes creatures down here will try to attack you. When this happens, try to stall for time so I can come diffuse the situation. Practice on this dummy! Just strike up a friendly conversation!" Mabel stares at the dummy and lets out a meek "hello.... nice weather, right?" She noticed a smile spread over Toriel's face and they continued on.  
  
As Mabel followed Toriel blindly through the corridors, a creature jumped out and ambushed Mabel. Out of instinct, she smacked it with the stick she was holding, causing it to run off. She looked up to Toriel's disgruntled expression, forcing an awkward smile. "No, we don't hit the creatures, child." Toriel lead Mabel over a bridge of retracting spikes and into the next room. "I'm going to ask you to preform a difficult task now. I want you to make it to the end of this hallway by yourself."  
  
Mabel watched as Toriel ran down the extensively long hall, leaving Mabel by herself. And Mabel began to run after. Things could attack her, so she didn't want to be alone. As she reached the end, Toriel came out from behind a pillar and smiled. "Well done, my child. The reason we did this exercise is so that I could see if you could handle independence. I have a few things to go do, so I want you to wait here for me. I'll give you this cell phone to use if you need me." Once again, Mabel was alone in this unfamiliar and slightly unnerving environment.

* * *

As the sun began to set, Stan stared blankly out the window. "Ford, I'm worried. Mabel should have been back by now." His brother sighed, worry riddling his face as well. "I am, too. With all the disappearances, I fear she may have-" "Don't say it, Sixer!" Stan cut his brother off furiously and held his head in his hands. "If she did go missing... if she was taken by that thing you saw holding Dipper's body... I don't know what I'd do with myself." Ford looked to Fiddleford, who sat beside him, as if he'd have an answer. Fiddleford just took his hand and blinked silently, unable to even formulate a response in his head.

They just sat there and prayed for Mabel's safety. Hoping that's she'd return any moment. But nobody came.


	3. A Spark of Determination

"Great. I'm alone here...." Mabel slumped onto the ground, leaning against a wall. She looks to the phone handed to her, turning it over. It's a pink Motorola flip phone. "When I was little, all the kids wantd these," she remarked before standing up. "I'm not staying in this room."

As she walked into the next room, the phone began to ring. "Um, hello?" "My child, you have not left that hall, have you? There are more puzzles I haven't explained." Mabel hung up, a tad frustrated at the goat woman's hand holding. She could deal with these puzzles herself. After playing for a few seconds in a pile of leaves, she continued.

She took a left turn and saw a bowl of candy with the words "take one". She grabbed one and then another before turning to leave. Back out into the leaf covered room, Mabel walks through, being ambushed yet again by another frog creature. She stops herself from hitting it, instead looking it over. "You know, you're actually a cute litle guy...." It didn't seem to understand although it blushed anyway. After it summoned a hoard of flies, which Mabel dodged clumsily, she shooed it on its way.

Walking through another hallway, Mabel was surprised when the floor gave out beneath her, sending her falling a good ten feet. Landing on her front side with a loud thud, she took a moment to recoupe before taking in her surroundings. There was luckily a staircase up to the other side of the cracks, letting her continue reletively painlessly.

The next room has a single switch and a rock. Even she knew how easy this would be. As she pushed the rock, she gets a call from Toriel once again. "Which do you prefer? Butterscotch or Cinnamon?" Mabel took a moment to think before responding. "Butterscotch," she said simply, "but I'm really okay with both." After hanging up, she continued along.

This time, Mabel noticed the cracked floors. It was hard not to, with the literal ocean of them separating her from the door. She began to take baby steps, surprised that the parts she was stepping on weren''t breaking. Until one did, sending her falling again. Landing on a pile of leaves, she sighed as she stood and looked around. There seemed to be a path kicked out in the leaves, and as she looked up at the hole she fell. through, she began to put two and two together.

It took a few attempts, but Mabel got past the sea of broke floor tiles. The next room showed more rocks, switches, and spikes. "Pfft, after the tile mess, this is cake." She pushes two, leaving the middle for last. As she pushes it, she was caught off guard by the rock talking. "Hey, hey, hey! Watch what you're doing!" It took a second for Mabel to comprehend what she just heard. "I'm sorry, but I need to to move...." "Well why didn't you just ask?" The rock slid forward of its own accord, although not far enough. Mabel went to push it again with the same outcome, only this time the rock moved in the wrong direction. One more time, and the rock finally went into the right spot and Mabel left. "Rocks have feelings too, Mabel. But they can also be annoying."

After passing by a mouse attempting to get some cheese, Mabel is blocked by a ghost resting on a pile of leaves. Or at least she thought it was resting. "Zzzzz...." Mabel binked audibly, sighing. "Listen, buddy, you're gonna have to move." As she reached out to move it, it floated up suddenly, tears pouring. "I'm sorry... my specialty is just laying around and doing nothing...." Was that an attempt at a joke? She suspected that it was, so she just kind of laughed. The ghost seemed to enjoy that? So she laughed at everything it said, and eventually it put on a tophat, calling it its "dapper blook". "I've never met a nice person before.... thank you. Come visit me if you want later..." With that it faded off.

As Mabel explored, she was sold a spider donut.... which she decided she would not touch. She stowed it away and coninued north with a sigh. A hall littered with Froggits, as they told her they were called, stretched forward. Toriel called again, telling her not to pick up too many things. The next room was empty except for broken tiles and spikes blocking the opposite door. "Now what...?" Mabel heard a small voice that made her spn around. She had thought she heard Dipper. But he wasn't there. His voice came again. _"The answer is underneath you, Mabel...."_ She went and kicked out a broken tile, jumping down. Sure enough, there was a room here. There was nothing but a worn brown jacket laying on the ground, however.

Mabel climbed back up, pulling the jacket on and discarding her now nearly useless bandage. The next tile she kicked out revealed the switch which allowed her to continue. The fact that she heard Dipper stuck with her, and she felt scared of what may have happened to her brother. As she went into the next room, it wwas filled with switches that seemed unnecessary. The other door wasn't blocked. Reading the sign confused her until she went into the next room and read that sign. "Oh, I get it...." She went though the rooms, looking for and pressing the appropriate switches until she made progress.

As she went into the next room, exhaustion beginning to set in, a Froggit looked up at her. "Toriel just came through here with groceries." Mabel ndded and went to the eastern door, showing a rooftop looking over the rest of he underground. On the ground was an old kendo stick. It was pretty beat up, but could definitely cause more damage than the weak stick that Mabel held if ned be. She picked it up and sighed before heading back and going into the ornate doors at the northern wall.

A single tree and a bed of golden flowers sat in this room, and Toriel was making another call only to hear Mabel's phone ringing. "My child, did you make it all the way here on your own?" Mabel nodded, a smile on her face. Toriel looked worried, seemingly disappointed in herself. "I'm so sorry.... I should have stayed with you." Mabel shrugged. "It's okay. I was just bored was all." Toriel nodded and took Mabel's hand. "Let's go inside. I made Cinnamon-butterscotch pie to celebrate."

Mabel let Toriel lead her into her home, and down the hall. "This is your room. Why don't you get some rest? You've had quite the day." Mabel couldn't argue with that logic and went into the obvious child's room, passing out as she hit the bed.

* * *

 

Morning had come and Mabel had not returned to the mansion. Ford and Stan paced the foyer, muttering different instances of pretty much the same spiel. Fiddleford looked at the twins, and if they didn't have the small differences they did, they would be near impossible to tell apart. And like any worried caretakers, the blame shifting began.

"Damnit, Sixer! Why didn't you supervise her outings? You couldn't even think about what could happen?!" Stan had turned on a dime and yelled at his brother, trying to keep his voice from breaking under the worried tears that he was choking back. Ford flinched before taking an offended stance. "Lee, in order for any child to grow up properly, you need to give them their space! Now more than ever, Mabel needed our trust and support. Not for the two of us old men to be hovering over her and treating her like a helpless five year old!"

The two went back and forth between each other, trying to toss the blame around, leaving Fiddleford to stand by and watch as they fell apart. "Would both of you stop it?" His voice stopped the pair from yelling at each other. "It's neither of your faults. You did all you could. What matters right now is Mabel's safety. And personally... I think she'll be fine. We just have to trust her judgement. We have no idea where she's gone, but I get the feelin' that she's safe." The twins looked to each other and sighed together. "Sorry, Ford. I just-" "I know. I'm scared, too."

* * *

 

Mabel awoke and rolled out of her bed to find a plate of pie sitting in te middle of the room. She picked it up but couldn't bring herself to eat it. The feeling that her family and friends were worried gnawed at her stomach. She walked to the kitchen, bagging the pie and putting it in her backpack, before going to find Toriel. "Hey, Toriel...?" The goat woman looked up from her book and smiled. "My child!" As Toriel cut her off and began talking about schooling and whatnot, that was when Mabel had to stop her. "How do I leave? I have a family and friends on the surface that need me." This seemed to irk Toriel, who stood and dismissed herself before going downstairs. Mabel followed her down the hal, irritated. She ignored her warnings and continued to follow to the door at the end of the tunnel.

"This is the door out... but..." Toriel turned, determination clear on her face, "I'm not letting you through." Mabel looked on, anger coursing through her. "Why not? We both know I don't belong here!" Toriel spoke at Mabel with a sternness to her voice. "I've seen it time and time again recently. Humans fall. They go through these doors. They die. And if you go through, you will, too." Mabel growled. "That's what you think. But I'm no pushover. I can take whatever the underground throws a me!" Toriel frowns and sighs. "Prove it." "What?" "Prove that you're strong enough. And I'll let you go through."

Mabel brandishes the kendo stick she found earlier as Toriel floats slightly, an aura appearing around her. "Toriel, we don't have to do this!" Mabel held a defensive stance. She didn't want to fight the person who helped her. "I need to know that you can hold your own. This is a test you need to pass." Mabel narrowly dodged the barrage of magical blasts that Toriel fired at her before locking eyes. "Toriel, please! I don't want to fight you!" Mabel was met with the same attack, getting hit in the shoulder. The heart on her sweater flickered slighty. "I will not back down, child." Once again, Dipper's voice could be heard. _"She isn't going to listen to reason. Talking won't solve anything."_ Mabel took a deep breath and changed to an offensive stance. "Alright then. Let's tango." Mabel began to dodge Toriel's attacks, getting close enough to land a blow. It didn't do much damage, but Toriel seemed impressed.

The exchange continues for a solid fifteen minutes as they trade blows. Every time Mabel is knocked to the ground, she stands back up and rushes at the being blocking her way to freedom. She wasn't planning on hurting her more than necessary. She just anted to get her to back down. But as she went in for another blow, she hits Toriel in the side of the head, sending the goat to the ground. "Toriel!" Mabel runs to her side, fightened. "Oh my god, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" Toriel's pained laughter cuts her off, and Mabel can only sit confused. "It seems you are strong enough, child.... please.... don't let... Asgore.... kill you." Mabel watches as the light leaves Toriel's eyes and her body crumbles to dust. "I'm sorry.... Toriel." She feels a ghostly touch wipe a tear from her cheek before she stands and walks out the doors into the snowy province ahead.


End file.
